Pale
by Kkas
Summary: It's fine to pretend that everything was okay. But both knew time was running out. NaruSasu oneshot. AU


**Hey mina-san! This was just a little part of a short drabble/multichip story project thing I scrapped. But seen as this part was finished, I decided to post it. If there's some dialogue that confuses you I wouldn't be surprised. It was originally themed on reincarnation, but I decided to leave those bits in just in case I do finish it.  
><strong>

**Its a little OOC, and reaaaaaally corny, not to mention sort of lame, cause this was one of the first Naruto things I actually wrote, but hey. *shrug* I thought it was okay in a little moment of madness. XD**

**Summary:It's fine to pretend that everything was okay. But both knew time was running out. Narusasu oneshot.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, would I be taking my frustration out on the internet by killing characters? D:**

**Starto? O人O**

* * *

><p>He told me I didn't have to, but I wanted to be near him always. I always had. Maybe it was his brooding face, with his little 'tough' pout, or the memory of <em>loneliness<em> his aura had always given out. When someone pushed me away, it only made me want to be closer to them. And he was the first, and very most important of them all.

I could understand his resolve, of course. After all, at any time now, he could….

Bah. It didn't matter. Sasuke was here now, and that was all that mattered to me.

He stirred, probably dreaming, I guessed from the way I could see his eyelids twitching. Sasuke's beauty was very traditional; Porcelain skin, silky ebony hair, and long dark lashes framing his eyes. They fluttered gently, but didn't open. His lips, light pink and supple, I knew from experience, were parted as little steady breaths streamed from them. I couldn't help but run my thumb over them lightly, having been too long since I'd last felt them.

Closing my eyes, I remembered when things were different. I'd known this boy since he was four, and though unfortunately he wasn't ever given the chance to be as fast, as full of life as the rest of us, it was easy to stay by his side. I was lonely myself, and he'd always been my greatest company.

'_Sasuke, what is that stuff?' I asked as I watched his mum spoon him a mouthful of some unfamiliar-coloured liquid. He winced slightly, but otherwise, his expression didn't change._

'_It's my medication. Kaasan says, if I take this, I can still play with you.' _

And for a time, that was enough. Besides the medication increasing with age, and the addition of some pills. Huge assortments of colours he'd have to consume everyday. Till he started getting frailer. He collapsed in middle school one day. He wouldn't tell me why he was in hospital, brushing it off playfully as having a bad immune system with a little cough and the corner of his lip twitching upwards-his version of a smile. He returned the following week, though.

Then he had check-ups, several times a week, until eventually he was home-schooled.

I visited everyday, of course. His mother would answer with a tear-stricken face, and forced cheerfulness as she told me how he'd been looking forward to my visit with a thank you.

'_Just because I have to be sheltered from the outside, doesn't mean you do, Naru.' He mumbled tiredly. It was snowing, and we were submerged completely under his mauve covers, fending ourselves from the cold, the bitterness. It was dark enough to forget anything else existed but each other. Unbelievably close, as usual._

'_Whatever you do, I do too, Sasu.' I rhymed him a little answer. He could sense I was smiling, but I also knew he knew I meant what I said._

'_Why?' He breathed a little cough, choking himself. My fingers rubbed his back gently._

'_Isn't it obvious?' My lips brushed the tip of his nose. Even in almost-darkness, I could feel, and imagine his mortification at my 'babying', as he called it, in the form of rosy cheeks while he glared at me. 'I love you.'_

I knew my feelings were returned. I also knew why he wouldn't say it back. But I didn't mind. I felt like I'd heard the words somewhere before.

'_Usuratonkachi.'_

'_Yes, Sasuke?' He didn't look at me, a sign that whatever he was saying smothered his pride. _

'_What…Do you think comes next?' He whispered._

_I paused…a thousand thoughts passing my mind, before I shook my head. He was still, eyes on the beautiful golden summer that taunted him from his window. The light hit his pasty skin in outlandish patterns, created by the leaves of the tree beside his window. 'Ba~ka. Don't worry about that. You're not going anywhere.'_

'_I won't…Be a burden to you next time.'_

'_Shut up, Sasuke.'_

'_And you'll find someone else.'_

'_I don't want anyone else.'_

_He smiled his half-hearted looking smile, which I really thought was pretty, flicking my forehead._

'_Don't be a spoiled brat. That Hinata girl likes you…'_

'_She's not you.' I snapped._

'_You…You could marry her.' I could tell by the way he said it that it was meant in multiple ways. Obviously, we had no sex life, and…As for our future…_

'_Oi. I'm only concerned about now, Teme.'_

_He frowned at my answer, displeased. The hand that touched the window, craving sunlight, slipped towards the pane lethargically, before he wandered back over to me, further into the bed. 'Please don't bother with me anymore.'_

As cold as he tried to be after that, I always returned. It'd been his birthday not long ago. As a gift, I snuck him from the hospital he'd recently been moved to, becoming a full-fledged patient, for one night. These walls must make anybody stir-crazy eventually. I'd noticed…He'd given up.

I sighed, feeling pressure on my jaw from the way it rested on the curve of Sasuke's waist. He wasn't facing me…He was reading with his kindle (a gift from Itachi), and holding my hand absent-mindedly. The nurses were so accustomed to me that they allowed me to stay extra. Nurse Shizune was especially warm, and on the night shift, promised to care for him for me. This hospital was the same that had developed his early meds, courtesy of Tsunade baa chan, I'd taken to calling her out of love for what she'd done. He was in the best care he could have, as an Uchiha. Even a sickly one.

Even for Sasuke, I noticed he was _exceptionally _quiet that night. Itachi, Fugaku and Mikoto had come and gone, all more sombre than usual. They'd granted me 'alone time' I didn't understand.

'_Don't worry about it, Naru.' _He'd told me fondly. But he wouldn't even sit up, and that was the last attempt at conversation he'd had with me. I hated it when he couldn't look at me. I felt like I'd done something wrong. And the loneliness came back at full force.

Finally, four hours late, Shizune arrived. She, too, frowned. Only Sasuke 'smiled'. The right corner of his mouth had joined the other, for a change. A genuine smile, still.

'Time to say goodbye, Naruto…'

Heavily, yet gently, I kissed him, a hand brushing his face. He didn't flush, like I'd expected him to, but leaned into the touch. 'I'll be back tomorrow.' I assured him. At least I thought I'd said it for him. I wasn't sure, now. By then, the hair on the back of my neck stood up, but I dismissed it anyways.

Fingers shaking, he held my face. He looked…Scared, suddenly.

'Don't beat yourself up, Dobe. Just have lots of ramen for me, okay?'

I chuckled. 'What are you saying? Go to sleep.'

He shook his head resolutely. 'I won't go just yet. I want to see you."'With my random dread, my brain couldn't help but mentally tag a horrible ending onto the sentence. But I refused to acknowledge it.

'Hey, what are you crying for?' He asked. Startled, and not even realising I'd closed them, I opened my eyes. Sure enough, there was liquid staining his perfect face. The way it flooded from the corner of his eyes, and ran against his nose, made it look like his own tears. His eyes were bright, and the moon reflecting of his face turned his skin a pallid ivory.

He's the one who made me this poetic.

'I don't know.' I told him the truth. He blinked.

'Don't.' He wiped a tear away. 'You're much prettier when you're my sun.'

His little analogy. Yin and Yang, sun and moon. He thought I completed him. The truth was, he completed me. I didn't want to be in this world if it had no Sasuke.

'Liar.' I scoffed gently.

Again, I kissed him. With all the strength he had, I could feel himself pulling his torso up, arms around my head for support. And still, the kiss was a gentle one. He smiled into it again. He'd smiled more today than ever.

'Love you, Naruto.' I froze. T hen I remembered that this was no surprise for me, and I quickly thawed, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

'See?' He sighed, sitting back. 'That's the face I like.'

Ignoring Shizune, I sat back down. 'You like all my faces.'

He smirked. 'Yup. But that's my favourite.'

I leaned my cheek against our tangled hands. '_You're_ my favourite.'

'I know.' He said, staring intently at me. I stared back just the same, waiting to see what he'd do next. After a brief battle with his eyelids, he wielded, relaxing fully against his pillow with a laboured breath.

'Easy.' I murmured, concerned. 'Sleep well, Sasuke.'

He nodded. 'I'll be dreaming of you.'

'Ditto.' I yawned, stretching as I leaned down for one more quick peck. 'I'll come early tomorrow.'

'Don't beat yourself up about it.' He slurred. I laughed. He must have been half asleep already. All the while I ignored the terrible foreboding dread in the pit of my stomach, and focused on the feeling of his sudden announcement.

Shizune had returned, having left a time ago, to give us our last few moments together. That night, I mean. _That night_. I was coming back tomorrow, of course.

Pocketing my phone, with the little red and white paddle charm Sasuke had made me in his free time on it, I exited the room.

'Thank you for everything, Dobe.'

'Sleep, Teme.' I demanded, my own bed calling.

And for once. I agreed with him. When I came to find him the next morning, his private room was empty. Even though I couldn't see it, I could hear Mikoto's wailing. Itachi stood outside the room, face even more stony than usual. His eyes were as hollow as my heart suddenly fell. They found mine, demanding my attention. For a moment, they reminded me of his. But they were different-_warm._

I won't tell you what he said, cause' I'm sure you guys are smart. I couldn't feel anything after, though. I couldn't hear the sound of him asking me to get up off the floor. It was too far away for me.

The only sense I could feel was the need to follow. Yes. That was what I'd promised, after all.

I'm such a Dobe.

* * *

><p><strong>ಠ_ಠ<strong>

**Still kinda short, cause I only extended it a little. Still reeeally corny. I have no idea what Sasuke has. Maybe something my brain invented. Did you need a tissue, or did the corn cancel out the sadness? XD**

**Thanks for reading, guys. I have plenty of tissue for you reviewers. Or therapy. Whatever. *emo corner***


End file.
